Friday, January 30, 2015

"Affluent parents are getting the schools they want. The question is
whether they’ll support the schools that help other peoples’ children."
Robert John Meehan
"Emulate those teachers that instilled the sense of wonder and curiosity that inspired you."Robert John Meehan

"Great teachers are motivated predominately by the desire to enrich and
empower the pupil, all other aspirations and motivations are held
in check by that one dominant desire." Robert John Meehan"Many ed reformers have foolishly accepted at face value that
teachers in lower income schools are less effective. They couldn't be
more wrong." Robert John Meehan
"Competition in education, by design, is intended to "leave children
behind." Competition, by design, creates winners and losers." Robert
John Meehan
"A teacher has to be ON every moment of the day, despite his/her’s actual state of mind." Robert John Meehan
"Our vision of teaching often becomes blurred by the restraints of
standardized tests, administrative burdens, parental complaints and lack
of support." Robert John Meehan
"As a teacher I spent a lot of time studying the "art of selling" to
get a better perspective of what I was trying to accomplish as a
teacher. After all, aren't we in the business of getting students to
"buy into" what we are doing?" Robert John Meehan
"True teachers illuminate the path to achievement, believing the
best way to predict a child's future is to help create it." Robert John
Meehan
"Our achievements as teachers are shaped by the climate of our
classrooms and the strength of our preparation." Robert John Meehan
"Teaching is a journey... but one where it's good news when you lose your baggage." Robert John Meehan

"Imagine if people were as passionate about education as they are about pop culture." Robert John Meehan

"Better teaching does not come from a
political mandate...it comes from the heart of a prepared and caring
teacher." Robert John Meehan

"If
we are not proactive in providing it, the children needing the most
attention will be asking for it in the most unsettling of ways." Robert
John Meehan

"Somewhere
in some classroom a student awaits a teacher's nod, smile or personal
attention. Exemplary teachers don't wait for students to ask for it."
Robert John Meehan

"I
seldom needed to encourage my students to follow their dreams, I simply
gave my students the tools and as much freedom as they needed to chase
after them." Robert John Meehan

"Exemplary
teachers are not gifted; they are just more prepared and more willing
to do what it takes. They conscientiously succeed on purpose." Robert
John Meehan

"Great classrooms are characterized by positive, open relationships,
mutual respect, and a shared responsibility for the learning process."
Robert John Meehan"Teamwork is the fuel that allows common teachers to obtain uncommon results." Robert John Meehan
"If we balance the budget on the back of the educational system, we will be paying for it for years to come." Robert John Meehan

"As
teachers we must adjust to the ever changing politically driven
educational mandates but still hold to the unchanging principles that
every child can and will succeed."- Robert John Meehan

"Our teaching should always
be artfully crafted. It should impart something that is in itself sacred
to the senses of our students." Robert John Meehan"Teach with a renewed appreciation of its consequences and you will
never cease to realize the infinite possibilities within your reach."
Robert John Meehan
"Although most would see them only as an ocean of small faces, we as
teachers see them as the waves that propel us." Robert John Meehan
"Don't struggle to be a better teacher than everybody else. Simply
be a better teacher than you ever thought you could be." Robert John
Meehan"If we are truly effective teachers, then we are creating
autonomous, independent, and self directed learners." Robert John Meehan

"Education
reform does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably
requires change. As teachers, positive change has always been our goal."
Robert John Meehan

"The
essential nature of any Teacher is within our own hearts. Although an
education prepares us to teach, it is the love of learning that sustains
us." Robert John Meehan

"The most valuable resource that all teachers
have is each other. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our
own perspectives." Robert John Meehan

"As a
teacher you have to be committed to learning for a lifetime first
before you can lead your students down that path." Robert John Meehan

Friday, January 2, 2015

It does not take wealth or the brains of a rocket scientist to engage children in the essential early literacy skills.
It may not be as much "fun" as clubbing, chill'n, or watching Jerry
Springer, but at least parents should be making an effort to put their own children in the position for a better future in school. A box of crayons, paper
and a library card are all the materials needed.

Poverty is no excuse! Wealth is not necessary to make the right
choices to get children prepared for school. The best schools and the
best teachers are already hard pressed trying to get other people's children caught up. Don't count on your child to be the main focus of an already over burdened public school system..

The American Library Association has identified these six key skills that will prepare children to become readers when they enter school:

A few notes from our editor:

Robert
John Meehan's passion for the children and teachers in today's schools
has made him one of the nation's most popular educator/poets. His
understanding and compassion for the teaching profession has
established Robert John Meehan as one of the nation's leading poetic
voices for the American teacher.

Robert John Meehan's depth of experience as an inner-city teacher for a
period covering four decades is deeply embodied in his writing. His
ability to share the joy, sorrows and at times the horror of teaching in
our inner-city schools is brought to the forefront of each of his
selections. His position of respect by his peers in the teaching
profession is unmatched by any of today's educational expositors.

Robert John Meehan's
insight into the heart and soul of both teacher and student tugs at our
emotions like no other writer can. Once you have joined his journey
into today's classrooms you will see why Robert John Meehan has
become one of the most quoted educators.